Jean-Pierre Firmin Malher (; 29 June 1761 – 13 March 1808) joined the army of the First French Republic and fought in the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Britain, Austria, Prussia ...

. During the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

he rose in rank to command a division. He was accidentally killed in 1808 while on campaign in Spain. His surname is one of the

Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe The following is a list of the 660 names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe, in Paris. Most of them represent generals who served during the French First Republic (1792–1804) and the First French Empire (1804–1815). Underlined names signify ...

Early career

Born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, Malher enlisted in the French army. During the

War of the First Coalition The War of the First Coalition (french: Guerre de la Première Coalition) was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797 initially against the constitutional Kingdom of France and then the French Republic that suc ...

, he became a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

in 1794. He received promotion to

general of brigade Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

in 1799 and to

general of division Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French (Revolutionary) System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army co ...

in August 1803. At the latter date, he commanded the 2nd subdivision of the 13th Military Division, headquartered in Rennes.

Napoleonic Wars

1805

When Emperor Napoleon I of France's Grande Armée moved against Habsburg Austria during the

War of the Third Coalition The War of the Third Coalition) * In French historiography, it is known as the Austrian campaign of 1805 (french: Campagne d'Autriche de 1805) or the German campaign of 1805 (french: Campagne d'Allemagne de 1805) was a European conflict spanni ...

, Malher commanded the 3rd Division in Marshal

Michel Ney Michel Ney, 1st Duke of Elchingen, 1st Prince of the Moskva (; 10 January 1769 – 7 December 1815), was a French military commander and Marshal of the Empire who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was one o ...

's VI Corps. His 8,000-man division included six battalions of the 27th, 50th, and 59th Line Infantry Regiments and three battalions of the 27th Light Infantry Regiment, plus six cannons. His subordinates were Generals of Brigade Mathieu DelabasséSmith, 203 and

Pierre-Louis Binet de Marcognet Pierre-Louis Binet de Marcognet (14 November 1765 – 19 December 1854) joined the French army in 1781 as an officer cadet and fought in the American Revolutionary War. During the French Revolutionary Wars he fought in the Army of the Rhine and ...

. On 8 October, the VI Corps marched to

Giengen Giengen (; full name: Giengen an der Brenz; Swabian: ''Gẽänge'') is a former Free Imperial City in eastern Baden-Württemberg near the border with Bavaria in southern Germany. The town is located in the district of Heidenheim at the eastern ed ...

, northwest of

Ulm Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...

. The following day, Ney ordered Malher to move south and seize the bridges over the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...

near

Günzburg Günzburg (; Swabian: ''Genzburg'') is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is a ''Große Kreisstadt'' and the capital of the Swabian district Günzburg. This district was constituted in 1972 by combining the city of Günzburg – which had not p ...

. To accomplish this task, Malher formed three columns. The western column under Etienne Nicolas Lefol aimed for the bridge at

Leipheim Leipheim is a town in the district of Günzburg, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the Danube, west of Günzburg, and northeast of Ulm. The village Riedheim and the hamlet Weissingen are districts of Leipheim. Since 1993, Leipheim has bee ...

. This force gave up after following a road that ended in a marsh. The 59th Regiment formed the eastern column, which was directed toward a bridge on the east side of Günzburg. The central column, which contained most of three regiments, marched straight at Günzburg. These troops collided with a force of Tyrolean jagers under Konstantin Ghilian Karl d'Aspré to start the

Battle of Günzburg The Battle of Günzburg on 9 October 1805 saw General of Division Jean-Pierre Firmin Malher's French division attempt to seize a crossing over the Danube River at Günzburg in the face of a Habsburg Austrian army led by Feldmarschall-Leutna ...

.Kagan, 408 Alarmed by the French, the defenders of Günzburg destroyed all the bridges. Cut off, d'Aspré surrendered with 200 jagers and two cannons. Malher tried to rebuild the two bridges at Günzburg but was forced to give up under the intense fire of 20 cannons and the ''Archduke Charles'' Infantry Regiment # 3. Later that day, the Austrian commander Karl Mack von Lieberich ordered the bridge on the eastern outskirts of the town to be reconstructed by

Ignaz Gyulai Ignaz is a male given name, related to the name Ignatius. Notable people with this name include: * Franz Ignaz Beck (1734–1807), German musician * Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber (1644–1704), Bohemian-Austrian musician * Ignaz Brüll (1846–1907), ...

. As soon as Gyulai's men rebuilt the span, the 59th belatedly appeared and rushed the bridge.Kagan, 409 Though outnumbered three-to-one, the attack led by Delabassé crashed through Gyulai's defenses and captured the span. The 59th deployed in square formation to repel the Austrian cavalry charges that followed. Malher moved the rest of his division to support the success and the French troops held the bridge against Austrian counterattacks. Mack retreated to Ulm on 10 October, conceding victory to the French. On 13 October, Malher clashed with an Austrian force led by Johann Laudon at the

Elchingen Elchingen is a municipality about 7 km east of Ulm–Neu-Ulm in the district of Neu-Ulm in Bavaria, Germany. Municipality parts: * Thalfingen: 4 211 residents, 8.83 km² * Oberelchingen: 3 024 residents, 7.31 km² * ...

bridge. The next day, he led his troops at the

Battle of Elchingen The Battle of Elchingen, fought on 14 October 1805, saw French forces under Michel Ney rout an Austrian corps led by Johann Sigismund Riesch. This defeat led to a large part of the Austrian army being invested in the fortress of Ulm by the arm ...

, but his division was only lightly engaged. After the successful conclusion of the Ulm Campaign, Napoleon sent the divisions of Malher and

Louis Henri Loison Louis Henri Loison (16 May 1771 – 30 December 1816) briefly joined the French Army in 1787 and after the French Revolution became a junior officer. Blessed with military talent and courage, he rapidly rose to general officer rank during the ...

of Ney's corps to the

County of Tyrol The (Princely) County of Tyrol was an estate of the Holy Roman Empire established about 1140. After 1253, it was ruled by the House of Gorizia and from 1363 by the House of Habsburg. In 1804, the County of Tyrol, unified with the secularised ...

. On 4 November, the Austrians defeated Ney's attacks at

Scharnitz Scharnitz is a municipality in the district of Innsbruck-Land in the Austrian state of Tyrol located north of Innsbruck and from Seefeld in Tirol on the German border. It is one of the largest municipalities and has 10 parts: Au, Eisack, Gieße ...

with heavy losses. However, on the same day the French wiped out a second Austrian force at

Leutasch Leutasch is a municipality in the northern part of the district Innsbruck-Land in the Austrian state of Tyrol about 30 km northwest of Innsbruck and 10 km northwest of Seefeld in Tirol Geography The village lies in the Leutaschtal, a ...

. Ney went on to capture Innsbruck the following day.

1808

On 30 November 1807, a French army occupied Lisbon in the Kingdom of Portugal. It had been allowed to cross the

Kingdom of Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

by agreement and Spanish forces occupied parts of Portugal. But Napoleon also plotted to add Spain to his empire by replacing the unpopular regime of King

Charles IV of Spain , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Charles III of Spain , mother = Maria Amalia of Saxony , birth_date =11 November 1748 , birth_place =Palace of Portici, Portici, Naples , death_date = , death_place ...

. On the pretext of supporting the occupation force in Portugal, 75,000 French troops crossed into Spain in early 1808 and took over key strategic locations. On 13 March, Malher was accidentally killed during a military exercise in

Valladolid Valladolid () is a municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. It has a population around 300,000 peop ...

. The name MALHER is engraved on Column 7 of the Arc de Triomphe. An urn with Malher's heart resides in the Panthéon in Paris.

Notes

References

* Glover, Michael. ''The Peninsular War 1807-1814.'' London: Penguin, 2001. * Kagan, Frederick W. ''The End of the Old Order: Napoleon and Europe, 1801-1805''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Da Capo Press, 2006. *

Thiers, Adolphe. ''Histoire du consulat et de l'empire''. Vol. 6. * Digby Smith, Smith, Digby. ''The Napoleonic Wars Data Book.'' London: Greenhill, 1998. {{DEFAULTSORT:Malher, Jean-Pierre Firmin French generals French Republican military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars French commanders of the Napoleonic Wars 1761 births 1808 deaths Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe Accidental deaths in Spain